Increasing magnetic recording density requires narrower-track widths and narrower shield-to-shield spacing on read heads. Current tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) read heads comprise a pinned layer coupled to an antiferromagnet (AFM) layer. The TMR read heads further comprise a free layer separated from the pinned layer by a barrier layer. Current attempts to narrow the shield-to-shield spacing by removing the AFM layer have been unsuccessful because AFM-free TMR read heads are prevalently magnetically bi-directional